Maternal or
other adult proxy reports of child health and health care utilization are used in many
health surveys, such as the National Health Interview Survey (NHIS). Other studies such as
the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) complement data collected at
medical examinations by using maternal interviews to collect retrospective health
histories for children in the sample. Information on health behaviors, such as
breastfeeding or parental smoking, also are typically collected from maternal reports.

Medical
records are another common source of information on health care utilization, diagnoses and
treatments for both children and adults. Diagnostic codes on medical records are
frequently used to estimate disease incidence and prevalence.